FrankBarnako

For now, the new features are only available in AOL's paid-subscription service. They'll be added to the free-of-charge AOL.com Web portal next week.

Among the changes, the new format eliminates tabs for selecting categories of information in favor of a simple horizontal menu bar. The usual page of results is supplemented by a "Web Matches" column on the left side that lets users refine their hunt. For instance, if you search for "computers," you'll find relevant pages categorized by "Technology," "Software," and "Notebooks, Desktop." AOL incorporated the feature by licensing "clustering technology" from Vivisimo, a Pittsburgh-based company.

AOL, part of Time Warner
TWX, -28.57%
has also added a feature called "Snapshots," or pre-packaged search results. A staff of 60 people have built and organized almost 2.5 million Snapshots, said Chris Sherman and Gary Price of SearchEngineWatch.com. They found AOL search's improvements make it "a clear contender in the battle for eyeballs between Google
GOOG, +0.77%
Yahoo
YHOO
Ask Jeeves
ASKJ
and MSN Search
MSFT, +1.50%
"

America Online also said it will "soon" expand local search through a partnership with Fast Search & Transfer Inc., another technology company. Content will be available from AOL yellow pages, city guide, Moviefone, Mapquest and other content resources.

America Online also said it has agreed to work with Copernic, an information management company, to provide users with Desktop Search that will allow users to hunt for information on the Web, the America Online service, as well as their computer's hard drive.

The strategy of licensing technology, rather than developing home-grown products, makes sense to Charlene Li, principal analyst at Forrester Research. "I agree with that because they're able to pick and choose from the best of breed players out there," she wrote on her Weblog.

"It's becoming clear that AOL's core competency will have to be integrating all of these technologies into an amazing experience for their users," she added. "Search loyalty is up for grabs and AOL has the right arsenal to win back defectors."

Test drive the new AOL Search service at aolsearch.aol.com/aol/webhome.

Big law firm vs. little blog

Lawyers representing Microsoft
MSFT, +1.50%
have demanded that Engadget, Jason Calacanis' Weblog about computers and consumer electronics, remove a recent commentary item about the company's Windows Mobile technology. A letter from the law firm of Covington & Burling said the posting on Engadget.com "violates Microsoft's intellectual property rights" and threatens charges of trademark infringement and trade secret misappropriation if it is not removed. According to an entry in the blog, Calacanis called the attorney and suggested, "Perhaps someone from Microsoft should just call me and explain what the issue is." On Thursday afternoon, the posting was still on the site at http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000760025993/.

You can also listen to an audio version of Internet Daily. Call your local CBS Radio station for broadcast times. Internet Daily can be heard on your Pocket PC PDA too! Click here for information.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.